I was the fourth disaster in Yokohama and was loved by everyone.

Zhu Yu: ......

CCC!

"Hmm, [Kuroko] can't think of anything? Then let the famous detective help you." Ranpo peeled a piece of candy and popped it into his mouth, mumbling with the candy in his mouth, "How about a dessert-making contest? The famous detective can be the judge~"

Zhu Yu glanced at her [Pastry Chef] level, which she had diligently leveled up to the maximum, and nodded confidently.

*

The two decided to have a "dessert" competition first, but somehow the others found out about their "duel" and all asked to become judges.

The afternoon sun gently bathed the garden, and next to the white gazebo in the center of the lawn stood a long wooden table covered with delicate lace fabric.

The long wooden table served as the judges' seats. Ranpo, with Karl sitting in his lap, occupied the very center position, flanked by Rimbaud, Verlaine, and the Fitzgerald family.

“Hahaha, what a lively scene, my dear Zelda.” Fitzgerald looked at his wife with a smile as he watched the hill pushing the food cart towards them in the distance.

There aren't many people who can get Mr. Po to this level.

Zelda immediately understood her husband's meaning. To avoid accidentally laughing out loud and embarrassing the easily amused Mr. Poe, she picked up the gilded porcelain teacup with her snow-white gloved hand and took a sip of tea to cover up her laughter.

When Po arrived at the judges' table, the apple pie he served was still steaming, with the edges of the crust baked to a golden brown and crisp.

He moved out and lived alone after he became an adult, and he is capable of taking care of himself. As for his cooking skills, although he is not an expert, his food is not bad either.

They have a chef at home, so he doesn't have many opportunities to cook himself, and he's only made desserts a handful of times.

Fortunately, he had learned how to make apple pie from his parents before he became independent, and he had also tried making it himself.

He was initially a little worried because he hadn't done this in a long time, but now that he sees the finished product, it seems pretty good.

Po's nose twitched at the aroma wafting over.

"Please, please try it."

Feeling a little uncomfortable being stared at by so many people, Poe distributed the sliced ​​apple pie to everyone and then stepped back a few paces to wait for the judges' evaluation.

The aroma of hot apple filling, infused with cinnamon, filled the air. People picked up a piece of apple pie with a caramelized edge using their forks and put it in their mouths. The moment it touched their tongues, the buttery flavor of the pastry melted on their tongues, followed by the fruity aroma of the apple...

Surprisingly delicious.

Everyone wrote down their scores.

"Edgar's apple pie is amazing!" Isabel exclaimed enthusiastically, clapping her hands with delight.

Fitzgerald and Zelda also applauded, giving Poe a grand welcome.

The person being praised was really not good at handling this kind of situation, so she pretended to adjust her bow tie, but actually secretly smoothed her half-long hair to cover her burning neck.

[Meichuan] Miss, why haven't you arrived yet! Don't leave me here alone!

Ranpo devoured the apple pie completely, still wanting more: "Sakae-kun, not bad at all."

"Thank you for your hospitality." Rimbaud bowed slightly, elegantly pressing a napkin to the corner of his lips to wipe away any crumbs.

Verlaine offered no comment, instead scrutinizing the slope with a critical eye.

This human wants to challenge my sister? He's overestimating himself.

Although he admitted that this person's apple pie was passable and showed some skill, he couldn't compare to his sister's.

Po tensed up under the penetrating gaze of a certain transcendent being, but he forced himself to remain calm.

He could only relieve his stress by looking at Karl, who was lying lazily in Ranpo's arms.

Po: QAQ Carl~

Carl silently turned the back of his head toward him.

Just as Po was about to burst into tears, Zhu Yu pushed her food cart out—

Saying it was pushed might not be so accurate. Several arm-thick vines and tendrils wrapped around the silver trolley's armrests, supporting it high in the air. The trolley was filled with all kinds of desserts, making one wonder how it could fit without falling down.

And there wasn't just one food cart filled with desserts... Food carts floated in the air, and Fitzgerald rubbed his eyes discreetly to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Fitzgerald: ...Could it be that all the food carts in the house are here?

Chapter 173 The Final Match

The judges, who were suddenly struck by the sight of the judges' panel piled high with desserts, were bewildered.

Isabel and Ranpo were the first to react, grabbing their forks and starting a dessert battle.

Isabel: Hmm, why was the food cart flying in the sky just now...? Oh? These little cakes look delicious! I've never seen this before, I'll try it... I've never seen that before either, I'll try it...

Ranpo: While the president is away, the limited-time offer of desserts for the famous detective has ended!

Next to recover were Verlaine and Rimbaud. Having witnessed Zhu Yu's many unconventional actions, they accepted it well. After a slight shock, they calmly began to taste it.

Verlaine: This is my sister's homemade dessert!

Rimbaud: It tastes so nostalgic...

Fitzgerald and Zelda looked at each other in bewilderment.

Has the world changed? Why does everyone else seem so calm?

But Po has already petrified on the spot—we have already lost in terms of numbers!

How did Miss Meichuan manage to make so many desserts in such a short time?!

A player commented: "One-click 'crafting' is so convenient (thumbs up)."

Her maxed-out [Pastry Chef] level allows her to produce desserts that are among the best in the world in terms of taste. Even the most discerning food critics can't find fault with them, and she can maintain the same taste while serving food extremely quickly.

The effect of reaching the maximum job level is that there is a chance to produce desserts with random buffs. So after making this batch of desserts, she kept poking and poking to select a batch of special desserts with buffs.

After she finished screening, she found that Po had already left.

She originally intended to put all the desserts she made into her backpack before taking them out, but the maid who was helping her was extremely fast. When she turned around, she found that all the desserts had been neatly arranged on the food cart.

It looks a bit crowded, but it still retains a neat and tidy aesthetic.

Zhu Yu nodded in satisfaction and left with the food cart.

After removing the highest and lowest scores and taking the average, unsurprisingly, Zhu Yu won this match.

During this period, Verlaine protested the grading system, arguing that he should not have his perfect score for his sister removed. He disagreed with this decision.

Unfortunately, the protests were fruitless.

Po watched with a blank expression as the chief judge, Ranpo, announced the competition results. His mood was quite calm, like a stagnant pool.

He suddenly had a bad feeling—what if something unexpected happened in the reasoning competition that he thought he had it all figured out...?

*

The specific content of the reasoning contest was chosen by Ranpo. He selected a "street robbery" published in the newspaper and said that whoever found the criminal first would win.

Upon arriving in familiar territory, Poe immediately relaxed considerably, hurriedly leaving with Carl on his shoulder to gather information.

Rimbaud had a slight concern: "[Kuzi] has never been involved in reasoning before, is that alright?"

Ranpo saw through his thoughts but didn't say much. Well, underestimating [Kuroko] will lead to big trouble...

Zhu Yu, who had already left the residence and headed out onto the street, was flipping through the quest panel and couldn't help but sigh: Po is really a great NPC for players. One quest can even trigger several other quests. He's so generous.

A missing person search? Too easy.

Zhu Yu continued to dart around the streets, tracking down clues from the system.

Following the clues, they tapped and punched the red-named players who surrounded them, and tracked them down to a house using the map.

Enter through the main gate openly and honestly.

A bunch of NPCs have turned red.

Sigh, they're all just ordinary NPCs, their levels are too low.

One casual basic attack and they all fell down in a row.

They ran over and looted the body, finding some loose change, a lighter, and a gun, among other ordinary items.

The system indicates that the final target is in the basement.

Zhu Yu followed the prompts and ran into the basement. There was only one NPC inside, with several large boxes next to him. When he saw her suddenly appear, he looked nervous, raised his gun and shouted angrily.

found it.

At the same time, a slight tremor suddenly occurred above the basement, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Po arrived with his men.

In the dimly lit room, people lay sprawled on the floor in various contorted positions, like puppets with their strings cut.

Po stood there, stunned, the last glimmer of light in his dark eyes extinguished, leaving only an overwhelming sense of loss.

We... have lost.

My chest feels like it's blocked by something, and it aches and hurts.

From the very beginning, this duel may not have been about winning, but rather about declaring to the other: Look, he's formidable too, don't underestimate him—

How could this be?

He was so confident that he couldn't possibly lose, but reality dealt him a harsh blow.

He lost in the area where he was most confident.

"Clearly..." He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, "Clearly, if only we had been one step faster..."

He suddenly squatted down, completely immersed in this terrible mood.

—"Da da da"

A shadow fell.

Before he could react, a force suddenly came from under his armpit, and his body felt light as the other person lifted him up.

The moment he was lifted off the ground, he instinctively held his breath, waving his hands wildly as if trying to grab something, but only managed to grasp at thin air.

His dull eyes suddenly widened, and the other person's face was clearly reflected in his pupils. He was so close that he could see the extent of the other person's eyelash trembling.

The emotions that were raging in my heart just now seemed to be paused by this sudden action, leaving only pure shock, like ripples spreading out of a lake after ripples ...

"Po Jun." The other person tilted their head, looking somewhat puzzled. "Why are you unhappy?"

The question was like a feather, gently scratching at his heart.

He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't say anything. His cheeks began to burn uncontrollably, and even his ears turned red.

The disheveled state of being squatting on the ground and the frustration of losing the duel were all thrown into disarray by this sudden action.

He turned his face away, not daring to look the other person in the eye, his voice barely audible, still carrying a lingering nasal tone: "Put me down..."

Don't treat us like children!

But those arms still held him firmly, without the slightest sign of loosening.

He panicked even more, struggling and twisting, as a wave of shame washed over him again.

He frantically cried out in his heart for someone to come and save him.

"Miss Meichuan, please, please put us down."

Just when Poe thought he was about to faint on the spot, his savior arrived—

Edogawa Ranpo makes a grand entrance and announces Zhu Yu's victory in this duel.

Zhu Yu lowered the slope and happily circled around Luan Bu, who watched her movements with a smile and his arms around her.

He fled in disarray.

Thank you, Edogawa-kun, no, Ranpo-kun, you have helped us once again.

We will always remember this!

For a moment, Po didn't even have time to care about his loss.

Out of gratitude to Ranpo, Sakae became Ranpo's opponent in the third and final round of the detective competition.

The champion will be one of the two.